With $36 a Day for Late November Departures, Cruiselines Point to Hard Times This Season

A few days ago, I wrote about a November 27, seven-night sailing of the Norwegian Gem from New York that NCL is selling for $49.85 per person per day in inside cabins. That per diem rate results from the cruiseline's offer of $349 for that particular sailing (which is actually sold by one of the line's discounters, www.vacationstogo.com ). Within days after the appearance of my blog, Liberty Travel was advertising the same sailing for as little as $319 (or $45.57 per person per day) in its one-page Sunday ad in The New York Times (although, frankly, it's often difficult to obtain the advertised price when you actually call a Liberty office to book). Nevertheless, I had thought that $45.57 a day would be a near-world's record for the sale of cruises -- but I was wrong. Online Vacation Center ( www.onlinevacationcenter.com ) is currently advertising a November 28, five-night sailing of the upscale Celebrity Millennium from Miami for $179 per person in inside cabins, which comes to $35.80 per person per day. Has anyone ever seen a lower price for an ocean cruise?
 
Are cruises the cheapest form of vacationing in travel today? I'd consider China Spree's "Tale of China's Two Great Cities" (six nights in Beijing and Shanghai) for $899 to be a close competitor to those ocean voyages. When you consider that round-trip air transportation between San Francisco and China is included in the $899 price (for departures on January 15, and February 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23 and 26), you surely must conclude that this aggressive tour company is charging less than $35.80 per person per day for the actual stays in China (which include breakfast daily, but lunch only on four of the six days). Contact China Spree ( www.chinaspree.com ) and click on "specials."